Patrick The ( Carradice Nelson ) saddlebag is supported with a bagman. I've tried it without, and it sits just so on the mudguard. But in that position, it hits the back of my legs, so bagman it is. The mudguard by the way, is split underneath the brakes. The rear half can be removed without tools. This is to help pack it, for carrying on a train. The pump has it's own attachment fittings brazed on at the top and bottom of the seat stay. It is located there, rather than the top or seat tube, to allow the bicycle to be more easily carried over rough ground when pass hunting or, more common in my case, when going up and down the steps in a Tokyo highway underpass.
The front gearing is 44x26 rings ( TA crank and BB ) which is quite common on Japanese touring bikes. The builder was keen to explain the overlapping ratios of a front triple, and the benefits of a low tread crank. The front ( and rear ) derailleur is a Shimano Dura-Ace. Despite having a narrow cage and fairly large radius, the front shifting is fine. I wouldn't go throwing it from one ring to the other with wild abandon, but it does it's job with no rubbing in either position. I've not had to adjust it yet in 8 years or so. Likewise the wheels, Ukai rims on Ultegra hubs, 650A tyres ( the most popular size in Japan ). The wheel rims are quite narrow for a touring bike, but are still true after 5000km a year on and off road in all weather, and no spokes need adjusting yet. The builder did a good job, I think. Paul -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/nKSvZbWy0W0J. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
